Unexpected Ink
by Crimson1
Summary: After a rough night, Barry discovers that Len has a bullet wound he'd been ignoring and proceeds to tend to it, only to discover that his boyfriend has a hidden tattoo among his designs that is too funny to keep to himself. ColdFlash!


Barry loved Len's tattoos. They were intricate, well designed, painted across his chest, back, and down his arms, with so many minute interwoven but individual pieces that Barry found new elements every time he got the chance to look.

Of course he had never noticed this one particular spot before, down by Len's lower right hip where the tattoos ended, where the speedster was currently assisting the man in removing a bullet fragment.

When Barry had noticed Len favoring his side and demanded he lift his shirt, discovering the wound, he had at first pushed for them to return to S.T.A.R. Labs where Caitlin could remove it, but Len waved him away.

"This is nothing. Just grab my tweezers from the bathroom. If you can see it, you can remove it just fine without bothering the doc."

"But, Len, what if there's more I can't see?"

"If it continues bothering me, I'll bug Snow in the morning."

Barry had conceded only because he was exhausted, and even if he was capable of flashing them back to the labs in moments, he liked the idea of staying right where they were for the night, in Len's apartment, together, snuggled up in each other's arms before work the next day.

So Len had stripped down to his briefs and sprawled across the top of the bed facedown to make it easier for Barry to work. He did have to dig somewhat into Len's hip to remove all of the fragments, but he was fairly certain he'd gotten it all once he was done.

Len had asked him to speed through it, but Barry was too nervous, and insisted on doing the work at normal speed. Len hissed a few times, pausing to reach over and take a swig from the bottle of Jameson he'd set on the nightstand, but didn't request any pain meds. Barry worked as gently as he could.

And then, as he was finally finishing up and applying antiseptic and bandages, he let his fingers graze down Len's hip and up again, looking more carefully at some of the tattoos he normally didn't get this close of a look at. As intimate as they'd been recently, it wasn't as if he had the opportunity to document every design, especially from this angle. So he'd simply never noticed the hidden tattoo there, on Len's right hip. Not until now.

Len hummed, half asleep since the more painful work was over, as Barry's fingers trailed over his skin and then stopped on that specific design, somewhat hidden amidst one of many snowflakes, a sequence of numbers like a counting down stopwatch, and a unique looking key.

Barry stifled a laugh. There was no denying what the other design was, even done in simple black ink amidst so many more expected elements.

"What? You done back there yet, Scarlet? Let's call it a night already."

"Uh…yeah, Len, I'm…I'm done." Barry ran the flat of his palm over Len's back now, kneeling on the bed off to the side while he eyed Len's tattoos more closely, but no, nothing else caught his attention as standing out quite like the one on Len's hip. "So, umm…when were you going to tell me you were such a huge Hello Kitty fan?"

That woke Len up. He tried to roll over in a sudden renewal of energy, but Barry used his superior strength to hold his shoulders in place, and to plant a knee against Len's hip away from the bullet wound but still firm.

"I kind of like it," Barry said through his grinning. "Simple, classic, her little kitty face with a big bow."

"Scarlet, I swear, one word to anyone, and…" he trailed as he struggled harder to turn over. "Let me up!"

"She looks so cute this close to your ass."

"I was drunk! Lisa was with me! The rest started from wanting to cover it up!"

"Sure, Len…"

"Barry," Len said more dangerously, and Barry knew to listen when that tone was thrown around.

He let Len go, and the Rogue proceeded to roll over and glare at him, though he immediately flinched from being propped on his hip with the recent bullet wound and shifted further onto his back. Barry couldn't help snickering at Len's scowl.

"Last time I ask you for a favor!" Len growled.

"Oh come on. I really think she's cute," Barry said, still grinning as he crawled up the bed, up Len's laid out body, a hand soon planted on either side of his head, knees straddling Len's waist as he hovered. Barry was in his boxers and a T-shirt, and he knew they should just go to sleep, especially since Len was hurt, but he couldn't help leaning down for a kiss.

A kiss that Len initially turned his head away from.

"Come on…I think your tattoos are sexy," Barry whispered.

Len snorted.

"All…your tattoos."

Then glanced back at Barry, grudgingly, but eventually succumbed when Barry leaned down again, and allowed the kiss—slow, sweet, then increasingly intimate as Barry met his tongue to Len's and let a little more of his body weight press down.

Len hissed and shifted in slight pain from his sore hip.

"Sorry," Barry said, blinking owlishly at him. "Forgive me?"

"For your insatiable appetite, Scarlet? Never anything to forgive. But you say one word about—"

"Hello Kitty on your ass?"

"Hip," Len corrected, dead serious, "and I'm icing all of your underwear."

Barry laughed. "Wow, you really are a thirteen-year-old girl." He couldn't resist. He really couldn't. He'd heard Iris's tales of bras in the freezer at slumber parties.

He was still laughing when Len pushed him off the bed.


End file.
